Gasp of the Ghoulish Guinea Pig (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO

Joe blinked a few times. It really
was
Flash. But the guinea pig looked different to the
super-sleek
blur of fur that had been zooming round the obstacle course at the Crawfords’ house earlier that day.

Flash’s coat was damp. His eyes were big, green and staring. And every time he opened his mouth, little soapy bubbles popped out.

Joe rubbed his eyes.

“I need your help!” said Flash urgently, and an extra big bubble popped out of his nose,
filling the room with a flowery smell.

Joe gulped. “Are you … er … dead?”

“I can’t pass over properly until you help me!”

Joe groaned. Flash had become an Undead Pet, another creature stuck in limbo, unable to pass over to the afterlife until his problems had been solved. And thanks to the magical Egyptian amulet that his great-uncle Charlie had given him, there was only one person who could help – Joe!

“But, how…?” Joe muttered. “I was playing with you a few hours ago!”

“A lot has happened since you left,” the guinea pig said miserably.

Just then there was a shout from upstairs.

“Come on, Joe,” called Dad. “Turn it off now!”

“OK, coming!” Joe flicked the game off and turned back to Flash. “What happened to you?”

Flash trotted out from under the table, leaving a trail of damp footprints on the carpet. “It’s a long story…”

The guinea pig gave himself a shake, splattering Joe with sweet-smelling droplets.

“Urgh! What’s that smell? Did you pour a bottle of perfume over your head or something?”

“It’s fabric softener,” said Flash.

“What?”

“You know, the gloopy stuff that goes in the washing machine.” As Flash spoke a ripple of bubbles escaped from his nose.

“But how did you get covered in it?”

“After you left, George and Erin
put us back in our hutch, but I wanted to keep playing. I noticed that George hadn’t shut the hutch properly…”

“So you got out?” Joe asked.

Flash nodded. “I ran through the kitchen, but then something horrible appeared!” He began to shiver and a big bubble burst out of his left nostril.

“What was it?”

“A snake!” Flash let out a squeal.

“Very funny!” Joe rolled his eyes.

“No, really. There was a snake in the kitchen!” Flash’s fur was standing on end now and his eyes bulged. “It was huge. A monster!”

Joe frowned. “But Erin and George don’t have a snake.”

“I saw it!” squeaked Flash.

“OK, then,” said Joe, going along with the story, although he found it hard to believe. “What did you do?”

Joe winced. “You drowned?”

Flash nodded. “Look at me!”

Joe popped a few bubbles as they drifted out of the damp guinea pig’s mouth and floated towards him. “So, what do you need me for?”

“To save my friends from the snake! What if it eats Bolt and Lightning?”

“But maybe it wasn’t a snake,” Joe said. “I mean, snakes don’t just pop up in kitchens. And I think the Crawfords would know if there
was
one hanging round their house. Maybe it was just a hose pipe or a skipping rope.”

A stubborn expression appeared on Flash’s face. “It
was
a snake! A huge one. And they won’t know about it because it’s hiding behind the fridge! I saw it slither off there when Mum came into the kitchen.”

Joe scratched his head. “But how could a snake just sneak into someone’s house without
them seeing it?”

“I don’t know! But you’ve got to stop it, Joe,” Flash said firmly, “before it gobbles up my friends!”

CHAPTER THREE

Joe wasn’t sure what to do next. He wanted to help Flash but he couldn’t exactly call the Crawfords and tell them there was a snake in their kitchen. They’d never believe him. He still wasn’t sure he believed it himself!

“Come on,” he said. “Maybe we can find out what sort of snake you
think
you saw.”

“Hey!” squealed the guinea pig as Joe picked him up and squashed him into the large front pocket of his hoodie.

Joe crept out into the hall and listened.
He could hear Toby splashing about in the bath upstairs. Dad was talking to him. He could hear Mum up there, too, moving around. Luckily, he didn’t have to worry about Sarah – his pain-
in-the
-neck big sister was away at Guide Camp.

Joe snuck into the kitchen and spotted Dad’s new tablet computer lying on the table. He lifted Flash out of his pocket, then switched on the tablet and tapped in the word “snake”.

“What colour was it?” asked Joe.

“Orange!”

“And how big was it?”

“Enormous!” gasped Flash.

Joe smiled. “Yeah, but everything looks enormous to you, Flash, because you’re so little!”

Flash made an indignant snorting noise and a stream of bubbles burst out of his nose. “It was nearly as long as this table!”

“Really?” Joe reckoned the kitchen table was about a metre long. If there really
was
a snake,
then it was a big one! He tapped in the details.

Joe spotted a site about exotic pets in the search results. He opened the page and then clicked on a photo of an orange snake. “There!” he pointed. “Is that it?”

Flash peered at the picture of the snake and gave a squeal. “That’s it!”

Joe read the text. “It’s a corn snake,” he said. “It says they’re not dangerous to people…”

“But what about guinea pigs?”

Joe read some more. “Oh.”

“What? What is it, Joe?”

“It says corn snakes should be kept away from other pets … and…”

“What?” Flash peered up at Joe. “Tell me!”

“Well, it says that a corn snake’s main source of food is … small rodents!”

Flash gave a super-loud squeak and a rush of bubbles popped out of his ears, filling the air with flowery scent.

“Joe?”

Mum was standing in the doorway. “What are you doing? And what’s that smell? Have you been spraying air freshener?”

“No!” Joe shook his head. “It’s nothing to do with me!”

Mum gave her nose a rub. She couldn’t see the undead pets – no one apart from Joe could. But thanks to her allergies she could always sense when one was close.

“Why are you using Dad’s tablet?” Mum asked. “You know he said you had to get permission.”

Joe felt his face turn red. “I was just finding out about … animals.”

Mum sighed. “I know how much you love animals, and I could see that you and Toby had a great time playing with the guinea pigs, but we’ve been through this hundreds of times! We can’t have a pet because of my allergies.”

“But you didn’t sneeze so much today, Mum. Maybe guinea pigs don’t bother you like other animals do.”

“No, it’s because I took an allergy pill. But the medicine doesn’t make my allergies disappear altogether. In fact,” she wrinkled her nose and blinked a few times, “it must be wearing off. My nose actually feels a bit tickly now…” She gave her eyes a rub. “Turn off the tablet now, please, Joe.” She turned and left the room.

Joe waited until she’d gone then looked back at the screen. “I just want to check one more thing…” He tapped in the words “escaped
snake” then hit enter.

“Wow!” he breathed. There were hundreds of stories about people finding escaped snakes in their houses. Perhaps Flash’s story wasn’t as mad as he’d thought! Joe clicked on one story and a picture of a giant python lying on a bathroom radiator appeared.

Joe could hear his mum calling him again. He scooped up Flash and headed for the door.

“What are we going to do now?” Flash squeaked.

“I’m sure I’ll think of something,” whispered Joe, climbing into bed later that night. “Maybe I could go round to the Crawfords’ house in the morning and try and find the snake…”

Flash sighed. “If it’s not already too late.”

Joe placed Flash in an old shoebox stuffed with socks then lay down and flicked his
bedside light off.

A moment later he felt something cold and soggy wriggling by his feet. The next second, Flash popped his head out from under the duvet on to Joe’s pillow.

“Guinea pigs stick together,” squeaked Flash, nuzzling up to Joe.

“But I’m not a guinea pig!” Joe grimaced. “Budge up!” he added crossly. But Flash was already asleep, snoring bubbles.